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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. Where did you ________________ them?
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  7. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. I'll take my ________________ from you.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. mug — to rob
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. cue — for pool
  7. mug — a face
  8. mine — for digging
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. mug — a cup
  12. net — in sport
  13. net — for catching
  14. fork — in a road
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. perch — the fish
  17. cue — a signal
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. ground — crushed
  20. ground — the earth
  21. ground — a position
  22. bat — the animal
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. cue — a hint

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com